Go Home and Make me a Flower.

Go Home and Make me a Flower...
...Those were the words said to me by Master Jeweler, Volker Kracht at the end of our first meeting. I had been looking for ways to take my porcelain work to a higher level, and upon seeing my work in porcelain; Volker gave me the challenge that changed my life. He handed me three pieces of wax and told me “to go home, make me a flower”.

I went into this challenge with some confidence, thinking my techniques for sculpting porcelain would transfer to wax. I was right to a large degree, but in addition unlike porcelain that sets within hours, wax sculpting allowed me all the time I wanted to take in sculpting the finest detail into every facet of my work.

It was truly an eye opening experience!
Upon completion of my first flower in wax, I presented it to Volker. He pulled down his optivisor and studied it carefully. I was sweating bullets. After what seemed like an eternity, he said in his thick German accent “we cast it now.”

Volker took the time with me to explain every aspect of the lost wax process. What an exciting experience that was! And when he was through, he sat us down to talk about our experience. At the end he said, “I was going to retire, but I’ll give you three years to teach you how to make jewelry.” What a gift! I will be forever grateful. It’s been more than 3 years now since Volker took me under his wing. I’ve come a long way, but he will always be my teacher and mentor.


The process...

Here is a copy of my interview with Ryan at Orchids Made Easy, I think it tells the story beautifully with questions and answers.

How Are the Jewelry Pieces Made?

Ryan: The orchid pieces are so intricate. How exactly are they made?

Dawn: It’s a process called “Lost Wax” The method goes back to the Roman days about 4000 years ago and is still used today for making jewelry.
First, I sculpt a wax model which is also called a pattern, it’s first weighed so the amount of metal required to fill the mold (gold, silver, etc.) can be determined.
Then the wax model is attached to a base, and a flask is slipped over the base. Once the model is in the flask, a kind of plaster that looks like pan cake batter called investment, is mixed up, put in a vacuum to get all the air bubbles out of it, and then poured into the flask. It is then left to dry and harden. This takes a minimum of two hours.
Once the investment (cake batter) is dried, the base and flask are removed. Now the piece is put into an oven to burn out my wax model. Next a vacuum is used to force the melted metal into the investment mold. The Investment is washed away and then finally, the piece is cleaned up by filing and polishing it.

Ryan: What materials do you use?

Dawn: I use different metals, Silver is my favorite because it allows me to go bold with my designs. I also create pieces using gold and silver (two-tone jewelry) which adds character as well as depth to my jewelry. I also enjoy casting in Bronze…I have made several Orchid sculptures using the lost wax process and hope to make several more.

Ryan: How long does it take to create one piece?

Dawn: It depends, some pieces can be sculpted in a few days but in most cases, I would like to have a week and up to 4 weeks to make a piece of jewelry or bronze sculpture. It really depends on what the customer wants.